N u m b e r - 2 7

W e b s i t e

I actually have a website now! wooo! i have wanted an online portfolio for some time now, but i have never sat down and actually made one, but the wait is now over. it features all of my most recent work over the past year at uni and how i am now focusing my work on portraits and its a genre i want to stick to now.

check it out!

www.robfarmerphotography.com

N u m b e r - 2 6

F M P

Test Shots!

N u m b e r - 2 5

So the end of this year is creeping up pretty fast...and so is my Final Major Project! argghh
But i've actually come up with a concept, its called A Wall Between. and heres the brief i've come up with...

The study of 6 neighbors that live in similar houses, semi detached, with layouts almost exact to each other, but yet the insides of the houses completely differ from each other, they are homes. Every person or couple has their own unique style and taste and this project is a photographic study to show how different people can be from everyone else by taste and life-style.

i will create a series of environmental portraits to illustrate the person/persons who inhabits the house, with every person/persons being named by their house number, but also the portraits will depict the kind of person they are, whether it be in posture, gesture or facial expression, but also the style of clothing, the style of the room they inhabit or the life style they lead due to the objects, furniture and possessions they own.

The idea of this project is to bring together a collective of people who may live completely different life styles, whether it be religion, marital status, life style, sexual preference or age. It’s a project to show how different someone’s life can be from your own and all that separates you is a wall.

N u m b e r - 2 4

Competitions

Fujifilm Senses

Recently as part of our WRJ's we have to enter 3 competitions, when i heard of this i actually got quite excited! i've never actually entered any photographic competitions seriously before, except for one in college, but to be honest i was crap back then and it did not count. so i thought for a starting point, i'll go back to the one i entered to begin with and actually give it a real go instead of shooting some crappy pic of racially aware jelly babies i did last time! lol

so for my image iam going to enter, i was recently in London on a uni trip and it was at xmas time, and i shot this image of the xmas lights and decoration in Carnaby street.
the theme this year for fujifilm is actually "Sen5es", which is different to normal as they usually are based on book covers. so when taking this image, i realized that my senses were actually in play, i was using my sight to take the image, i could hear xmas jingles and the sound of people rushing around doing their xmas shopping and i could smell the cold, sharp xmas air. so in a way, my senses actually made this image possible and this image now conveys a sense of feeling, feeling xmas woo

N U M E R O - T w e n t y T w o

H o w T o D e s t r o y A n g e l s - T h e S p a c e I n B e t w e e n



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWbfgGDl6XE

Lately i have been looking into films and how they relate back to photography. The way that they are lite or how the shots are composed in such away that if stopped, the shot itself could become a photographic image.
I came across this short film by a musical collective called 'H o w T o D e s t r o y A n g e l s' for their single 'T h e S p a c e I n B e t w e e n'. I was so impressed about how the film was made i had to make a post about it. The way that its done, where the video's pace is slow and their is only subtle movements by the subjects or the interior, its outstanding. The composition is perfectly executed and every clip could become a beautiful photographic image.
Watch .

P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O - 2 1

T r i p

So recently our photographic department went on a trip to wales together. being there wasn't bad, getting to know everyone since i transferred universities. Only problem was that shooting wildlife and nature isnt really my cup of tea per say, so i was very uninspired. On the last day however, we played a group game called 'Photo sharades' , where we were given a name of a film and we had to produce a picture to go along with the film for judges to guess what film it was. I was given the film 'The Hangover' and this is my picture i set up...could you of guessed it?

N U M E R O - 2 0

D a r k N i g h t s . . . ( A r e F o l l o w e d B y B r i g h t e r D a y s )

I just wanted to add an image to my blog that i shot a month or so ago, it was snowing and it settled beautifully on the ground at night. so i had to take the opportunity to get MY version of a snowy scene :D. So i grabbed my gorgeous girl and made her stand in the cold modeling for me.
I really wanted a shot that represented contemplation and the fact everyone can feel alone an isolated sometimes in their life and i feel this is a natural process we all have to go through, hopefully with the end result being some sort of self evaluation ending in a strengthening on one self, in other words...through every dark night, there's a brighter day, so remain strong and no matter what happens, keep your head up.

N U M E R O - O N E - N I N E

Reboot...

Ok, so the past couple of months i have kind of neglected this blog, which i never intended to do be cause i feel this is a way to vent my artistic expressions but also keep everyone who might view this blog an update of what iam doing.
So since September i have transferred Universities, from AUCB (Bournemouth) to Bedfordshire University, for several reasons, which i wont go into. needless to say, not my greatest choice in life academically as it seems my new university course has a budget of possibly £100 :/, but as far as my other reasons go iam happy.
BUT as its my last year, iam not letting it get me down and iam still shooting.
over the next couple of blogs i will update you on shoots i've done, ideas iam working on (mainly for my final major project and new inspirations and direction my work has taken.
To start with as you can see from my last blog i shot a childrens birthday party with an Alice in Wonderland theme. on the day i shot in two different styles, the first which i have posted, but the second i shot in a very obscure documentary style. I shot on my Olympus E1 DSLR, but with a film camera flash on top, this gave my images a very 70's feel to it and the outcome almost completely erases the adolescence from the children.













P e a c e a n d L o v e .

N U M E R O - [ 1 - OO]

So recently i went to my niece's birthday party where i was selected as the photographer :D. So i just wanted to put a few images up to show how i got on...dealing with KIDS! :p







P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O - [ 1 - 7 ]

C . A . P





So this is my C . A . P final images, not the complete set as i will be posting them on flickr shortly, but these two are the images that i loved the most.
So in short, at the start of this project i chose to do fashion but every idea was going wrong and nothing would work. Therefore in the end i chose the wise move of switching genres to portraiture and i have to say its the best move i've ever done! I have never done portraits before so it was a challenge to make sure it all went smoothly and i had to make sure i researched on the genre before hand to see what makes a good portrait image.
After shooting this image i have really taken a liking for portrait photography. I think its going to be a massive switch within my photographic taste and style from now on.
I am really proud of these images as its not like my usual style, which is normally fashion photography.

P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O - [ O N E - S I X ]

G A I A - P r O J E c T





These are the two main images from my Gaia project. the first is defiantly my favorite! With the theory of Gaia being about how the world will change its climate and atmosphere to sustain survival despite the human race being wiped out, i wanted to show the possibility of humanity getting a second chance, so i created a panoramic image that also works as a time line in its own way. On one side you have a bleak black and white image with a leafless tree to represent a dead world and on the other you have a colourful image of a person (my model) growing out of the ground to represent the rebirth.

The second image is a close up of my model. It is the image intended for the front cover of the magazine. I chose this image because it works as a fashion image as well as a feature and the magazine i chose is 'Dazed and Confused' so it fits well.

I feel that these images were a great step for me in my progression in photography as i was using 120 film and a Hasselblad camera on location, which i have never done, as well as creating a panoramic image, which was a real task putting together. In all i had alot of fun with this project.

P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O - [ ONE - FIVE ]

P e r s o n a l P r o j e c t s

So since that its just a few months till...S U M M E R ! ! ! I have decided that i would like to still keep busy with my photography. Now i've always said, Every year, that i would do a project during the summer, but i have never really followed through with it. BUT this year it's all going down! I have come up with my own concept and i know exactly what iam going to do.

P R O J e C T - L A S T S u M M E R

My idea is to spend the summer capturing the youth of our generation and how they spend summer. Summer for a young person is a magical time and is something that is cherished dearly when old age hits and to reminisce on this part of our lives is also magical.
So i will shoot people from the ages of 1 8 - 2 2 during my summer adventures.
I will traveling alot during the summer going to Germany and Spain and also to music festivals. All of this will be be moments in which i can capture subjects. Also venturing in my own back garden, going up and down the country will prove to be as fulfilling towards my project.
So let summer begin and every moment counts!!!

P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O - F o u r t e e n

L a u r a P a n n a c k

So the other day we had a guest speaker come in to give a talk on her ever growing career and to show us her work. Her name is Laura Pannack. She graduated from Brighton University about two years ago and has won several photographic awards.
When i first heard that she was coming to speak to our year i decided to check her body of work out and to honest, i really didn't like it that much. i felt it was very boring, lifeless and dull.
But ever since she spoke to us, my outlook in photography has changed, my style is changing and iam becoming a completely different photographer.
I realized that with my photography, i wanna be noticed for my work. When i first came to the university, i had it in my head that i wanted to be a fashion photographer and that's all i wanted. But lately i've come to realize how hollow fashion photography is. when people look at a fashion image they always say 'WOW, what a great image, i wonder who the model is?' and i want people to look at an image and say 'WOW, what a great image, i wonder who the photographer is?'
I've come to see that with commercial and fashion photography the artist gets little praise, but with artistic photography such as portrait (which is what ive decided to head towards now) people's heads start to turn and they start to ask who produced the image instead of who's in it.
I've also come to love Laura Pannack's work now. I feel its very artistic and overflows with emotion, but also it has a strange element to it. Alot of her images leave the viewer questioning what their looking at and i think this leads to the excitement of an image.








P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O - X 1 1 1

Ok so lately ive been really busy with all sorts of work and planning. i've been working ideas on my C.A.P and my Digital Darkroom projects, but i've also been working on trying to get my images out into the worlds view. So to start my very own visual campaign i have created my own flickr account. So feel free to look at my images and see what ive been up to over the past 3 years. Also if you have a flickr account of your own, add me please and comment as i will return the flavor!

www.flickr.com/we_still_kill_the_old_way

P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O - 1 2

Suicide Girls - Photography



About a year ago, i was on holiday in America and i went to a borders book shop in the town i was staying. Every time i go into Boarders i spend WAY too much and this time was no exception. When looking around the store, normally in the art/photographic section, one book caught my eye. I had known previously about the Suicide Girls from the internet and i knew what they where about, so i decided to check the book out. from opening the first page i fell in love with it! Not just because of the gorgeous girls it showcased from all around the world lol , but also because of the photographic styles and because of the alternative modeling. It really is like a 'punk rock Vogue' with the way it consists of mainly nudist shoots, displaying piercings and body art, but the way its produced still contains a sense of class. I think the main reason i enjoyed this book was because it was something i could relate to with myself being covered in tattoos and piercings and this is defiantly something i look forward to be seeing more of.






P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O - 1.1

So this week most of the course has gone on a trip to new york, but i chose not to as i had a lack of funds. Sure iam little annoyed, i mean its NEW YORK! But, i felt i could use this opportunity to go into the studio and shoot a few things. Also my girlfriend was over so lucky her i decided to put her in one, shes knows the precautions of being in a relationship with a photographer :P.
Also during this period, i teamed up with another student and good mate of mine, Matt Walden. he and i have been helping each other out with shoots, taking turns in assisting with each over, covering each other backs and making sure everything runs smoothly during shoots.



I am quite happy with the way the shoots turned out and i have some nice images to stick into my portfolio.
The first shoot, which was originally matts shoot, but after he finished i asked if i could take a few shoots. I decided i wanted a little different from his, so i tweaked up the lighting a few stops so that the light was bleaching over the subject. I had never attempted this, so for a first try, it turned out not too bad.
For the second shoot, i had recently purchased a magazine called 'Volt'. Its a huge Fashion magazine that is not stapled together and essentially can be modified into posters...AWESOME!
But for this edition the front cover image really stood out to me. its lighting was very obscure and the image had a very symmetrical feel to it, therefore i had to try it.





I achieved this look by using the the two large rectangular soft boxes each side of my subject.
I do feel however if the studio we had was larger i would have had a better out come, as we are very limited for space and that is why you have these weird triangle shapes in the background.

So everyone's busy in new york, but dammit iam staying busy too! ;)

P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O - D I E Z

Well, back from the xmas holidays, with a fresh start and a new project, well two actually. The first is from the 'digital darkroom' assignment. Now we have the choice of an advertising option, which is for Sony, or the option for the book 'The Revenge of Gaia' which i chose.
These new projects are great because they offer alot more creativity compared to the last project.
So thinking about how i can approach the concept of Gaia, iam going to research into it, read some chapters of the book, look into other imagery of Gaia.
The first idea that came to mine was to show the Rebirth of humanity after Gaia and maybe have people growing out of the ground or something....who knows.
The second project is again set out with a number of options, which feature alot of different genres in photography. I have decided to go for 'Classic fashion' as its what i love to do and is the genre i am most accustomed to. Now i feel maybe should step out from my comfort zone, but i feel like i can build up from my past work on fashion by adding themes and story lines to it. Dealing with the idea of Classic fashion also gives me the freedom to explore into past cultures and looks, which is something i feel i could be very passionate about.
Iam really looking forward to seeing what i produce from this project and of course i'll keep you posted.

P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O : I X

Can Anybody Be A Photography?

So recently my dad decided to purchase one of digital picture frames. Now this basically a picture frame of normal size 7'' inch, but you can upload as many pictures as you like using a usb memory stick. So with my dad being like he is and also as i expected, he uploaded a whole heap of past family pictures. With currently going home, i got see see some of the images he added, some of which are fresh to my face and one caught my eye. At first i had no idea it was me, until my mum pointed it out. It was an old pic of me as a wee baby with my dad assembling a nice little assortment of props.



Now i dont now about you, but this image really stands out to me. Whether its because it shows a brief insight into British culture, with Britain's youths starting to drink at such an early age these days or the fact that it shows a great sense of humor from my dad.
The way its composed just stands out too, with the way the bottles are layed out and the expression on my face...PRICELESS!
Good Job Dad!!!

P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O : E I G H T

So, its just been my Birthday two days ago and my girlfriend got me the coolest present ever!! :D
A classic 1960's Diana Lomography Camera!! This is without a doubt the coolest present ever!!
i have always wanted a Lomo camera ever since i layed eyes on them. For those who dont know what a Lomo camera is, i'll explain. A Lomography camera is a classic medium format camera from the 1960's. it was dismissed by many, but considered a cult classic by others because of its plastic toy like body and weird imperfect images it produced. the images always came out over exposed and over saturated or doubled exposed. I just love this camera for its vintage and artistic vibe it has. Over the summer i feel i am going to crazy with this camera and produce as many images as possible!! ;)







P e a c e a n d L o v e

N U M E R O : S e 7 e n

Holla!

Time for another blog entry, so for this one i wanna basically show my excitement about the news i have just heard. That is this year they are bring back the almighty POLAROID INSTANT CAMERA!! WOOOOOoooo. i was so disheartened to learn two years ago that they had stopped the process of making Polaroid film as i had just purchased a Polaroid camera and was shooting left, right and center. Taking it to festivals, shoots friends and family, basically everything!
Instant Polaroid images are a beautiful thing, there's something very reminiscent about the look of them and the imperfect focus mixed with strange colours only adds to the effect they have.
One of my favorite images of all time is the Polaroid image of my girlfriend when i first went to her home town in Germany. It just brings back great memories :).
But this time around Polaroid is apparently going to reinvent its products. They are still bringing back the original instant film, but they are also making digital versions of Polaroid, where the camera has the classic look but also has a built in printer!!!



But the coolest thing that i heard, was that the handpicked personal artistic director of this relaunch is non other than L a d y G a G a herself! so by going by genius artist vision, i cannot wait to see how this product comes out!!!




New Polaroid models are due to hit the selves Autumn 2010.

P e a c e a n d L o v e